Compartmented shipping container



Feb. 22, 1955 R. E. ACKER COMPARTMENTED SHIPPING CONTAINER Filed Oct. 6, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l lNVENTOR.

Feb. 22, 1955 R ACKER COMPARTMENTED SHIPPING CONTAINER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 6, 1951 United States Patent COMPARTMENTED SHIPPING CONTAINER Ralph E. Acker, Fort Worth, Tex., assignor to Container Corporation of America, Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Delaware Application October 6, 1951, Serial No. 250,080

2 Claims. (Cl. 229-15) This invention relates to shipping containers, and has to do with foldable containers formed of paper board or analogous material and which preferably have interior compartments effective for guarding the contained articles against injury.

In shipping certain articles, such as loaves of bread, for example, it is desirable that a considerable number of the articles be shipped in a single container to keep the handling and shipping costs to a minimum. That necessitates the use of containers of substantial size. Preferably the container should have interior compartments of a size to receive snugly the loaves of bread, or analogous articles, so as to restrain them against objectionable looseness or play within the container and resultant damage to the articles. In order that the cost of the containers be kept as low as possible, the operations required in the manufacture thereof should be kept to a m nimum. In general, machines presently available for cutting and scoring blanks from which containers may be formed are not capable of handling blanks of sufiiciently large size for forming a one piece compartmented container of the size required for the economical shipment of loaves of bread and analogous articles.

My invention is directed to a compartmented container formed of paper board or analogous material, which is of a sufliciently large size suitable for economical shipment of loaves of bread and analogous articles and which may be produced at comparatively low cost. The container of my invention comprises a body member and a partition member together providing a container having interior compartments for reception of the articles to be shipped. The body member and the partition member are each formed from a single blank of simple formation and of a size such that it may readily be cut from paper board and scored, in presently available blank cutting and scoring machines. The partition member is so constructed as effectively to reinforce the central area of the container, providing with the body member interior compartments and also providing one of the main or body wall panels of the assembled container. The partition member is in the form of a tube or sleeve open at its ends for convenience in loading, and the container is provided with top and bottom closure flaps effective for closing the top and the bottom of the container, including both the body member and the partition member. The body member and the partition member are so constructed and secured together that the container may readily be folded fiatwise for shipment in knocked down condition, and may readily be set up for use. Further objects and advantages of my invention will appear from the detailed description.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the blank for the body member of the container;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the blank for the partition member of the container;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the completed container, with the bottom closure flaps closed and the top closure flaps open, ready for loading;

Figure 4 is an isometric view of the container of Figure 3, on a reduced scale, loaded and closed and sealed for shipment;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view, on a considerably enlarged scale, taken substantially on line 5-5 of Figure 4; and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional view, on a considerably enlarged scale, taken substantially on line 6--6 of Figure 4.

The blank from which the body member of the container is formed is shown in its fully extended condition in Figure 1. It is a one-piece blank cut from a sheet of paper board and cut and scored to provide a back wall panel 10, side wall panels 11, inner top closure flaps 12, an outer top closure flap 13 provided at its free edge with a tuck flap 14, inner bottom closure flaps 15 and an outer bottom closure flap 16 provided at its free edge with a tuck flap 17. The side wall panels are hinged to the side edges of the back wall panel along fold lines indicated by dot-and-dash lines, the end closure flaps are hinged to the ends of the body panels along fold lines indicated by dot-and-dash lines, and the tuck flaps 14 and 17 are hinged to the free edges of the outer closure flaps 13 and 16, respectively, along fold lines indicated by dot-and-dash lines, as shown.

The blank from which the partition member is formed is shown in its fully extended condition in Figure 2. It is in the form of an elongated rectangle or oblong cut from a sheet of paper board and is scored to provide a front or outer wall panel 18, side wall panels 19 and two partition or inner wall panels 20 and 21. The panels 18, 19, 20 and 21 are hinged together edgewise along fold lines indicated by dot-and-dash lines, as shown. The partition member blank and the body member blank respectively are of such size as to be readily cut and scored by presently available blank cutting and scoring machines, and may readily be produced by such machines at comparatively low cost and with no appreciable waste of material.

In constructing the container, the side Wall panels 11 of the blank of Figure 1 are folded into position extending from the back wall panel 10 at right angles thereto. That provides the body B of the container, which is of substantially U-shape in cross section. The blank of Figure 2 is folded to provide a sleeve open at its ends, with the panels 20 and 21 secured together face to face, conveniently by an adhesive, and connected to the panel 21 by the side wall panels 19. That provides the partition member P which corresponds in width to to the interior of body member B, the panels 18, 20 and 21 being properly proportioned to that end. Preferably, the width of the side wall panels 19 of the partition member P are one half the depth from front to back of body member B, though that is not essential in all cases and variation in that respect is permissible.

The partition member P is placed within body member B, at the forward portion thereof, with its top and bottom edges fiush with the top and bottom edges of side wall panels 11 of member B and its outer or front wall panel at the forward edges of panels 11, on the inner faces of which the side wall panels 19 of partition member P seat. With the body member B and the partition member P assembled as stated, the side wall panels 11 and 19 are secured together in any suitable manner, conveniently by staples 22. That completes the container, in which the wall panel 18 of partition member P provides the front wall panel or closure for the body member B, and the inner panels 20 and 21 of partition member F provide a partition of double wall thickness, which effectively reinforces the central areas of the side wall panels 11 of body member B. Also, the side wall panels 19 of partition member P provide, with side wall panels 11 of body B, side walls of double thickness for approximately one half the extent thereof from front to back, which are thus effectively reinforced. The container thus produced is of comparatively light weight but of rugged construction, well able to withstand abuses to which it may be subjected in use. It is provided with two interior compartments, as shown in Figure 3, well suited for reception of loaves of bread and analogous articles.

It will be understood from what has been said, that the completely assembled container may be folded flatwise for shipment, with the panels and the flaps thereof in superposed relation, since the panels are all hinged together along fold lines, the side wall panels 19 only of the partition member P being fixed to body member B, at the side wall panels 11 thereof. The container is,

therefore, well suited for shipment in folded or knocked down condition.

In setting up the container for loading thereof, the side wall panels 11 are moved into position at right angles to the back Wall panel 10, and the bottom closure flaps 15 and 16 are closed, with tuck flap 17 disposed at the inner face of the outer wall panel 18 of the partition member P. The container then appears as in Figure 3, with the top closure flaps 12 and 13 open for loading. It will be seen that the container is provided with two interior compartments open at their top and bottom ends, the lower or bottom closure flaps serving to close the lower ends of both compartments. After the container has been loaded, the top closure flaps are closed and tuck flap 14 is inserted between the inner top closure flaps 12 and the inner face of the outer wall panel 18 of partition member P. Thereafter, the container may be sealed by paper strips 23 secured about the front and side top and bottom corners thereof, strips 23 also serving to hold the end closure flaps closed. The closed and sealed container then appears as in Figure 4 and is ready for shipment. While I have shown paper sealing strips, by way of example, the container may be sealed or not, as desired, and if sealed, any suitable sealing means may be employed, and any suitable means may be provided for guarding against opening of the closure flaps.

It will be understood that changes in detail may be made without departing from the field and scope of my invention, and I intend to include all such variations, as fall within the scope of the appended claims, in this application in which the preferred form only of my invention has been disclosed.

I claim:

1. A two part shipping container comprising a body member formed from a single blank and having a back wall panel and two forwardly extending side wall panels hinged along fold lines to the side edges of said back wall panel, all of said panels being rigid and otherwise free of fold lines, and a tubular partition member of substantially rectangular cross section formed from a single blank and having two inner wall panels and front and side wall panels, said side wall panels being hinged at their front edges to said fiont wall panel along fold lines and hinged at their rearward edges to said inner panels respectively, all of said panels of said partition member being rigid and otherwise free of fold lines, said partition member fitting in said body member with its front wall panel providing a front Wall panel for said body member and its side wall panels seating on the inner faces of and secured to said side wall panels of said body member providing two thicknesses of material at the corresponding areas of the side walls of said container, said inner wall panels of said partition member being spaced from said back wall panel of said body member and disposed in overlapping relation and secured together providing a rigid partition extending between and reinforcing said side wall panels of said body member.

2. A two part shipping container comprising a body member formed from a single blank and having a back wall panel and two forwardly extending side wall panels hinged along fold lines to the side edges of said back wall panel, all of said panels being rigid and otherwise free of fold lines, and a tubular partition member of substantially rectangular cross section formed from a single blank and having two inner wall panels and front and side-wall panels, said side wall panels being hinged at their front edges to said front wall panel along fold lines and hinged at their rearward edges to said inner panels respectively, all of said panels of said partition member being rigid and otherwise free of fold lines, said partition member fitting in said body member with its front Wall panel providing a front wall panel for said body member and its side wall panels seating on the inner faces of and secured to said side wall panels of said body member providing two thicknesses of material at the corresponding areas of the side walls of said container,

said inner wall panels of said partition member respectively corresponding in width to the interior width of said body member and being located approximately centrally thereof and secured together in overlapping relation providing a rigid partition of two thicknesses of material extending the full interior width of said body member between and reinforcing said side wall panels of said body member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

